Johnny Olszewski Announces Bid For Re-Election

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski filed to run for re-election on Thursday.

"Together, we will continue our working building a #betterBaltimoreCounty," he said on Twitter.

Olszewski took over the seat in Baltimore County in 2018. The Democrat is the only candidate to publicly announce that he is running so far. The primary election takes place on June 28.

During his tenure, Olszewski has set up a free grocery shuttle service for county residents with limited access to transportation to obtain food, expanded COVID-19 testing to meet the demand of county residents, and overseen discussions on how the county can best spend its American Rescue Plan funding.

"We've made record investments in education, made our government more open and accessible than ever before and are leaning into the values of equity and sustainable – embedding them in our decision-making across," he tweeted.

Olszewski noted that he had successfully steered the county through a pandemic.

"We have done all this — and more — while leading a response to the #COVID19 pandemic that has been hailed as a model for Maryland and beyond," he tweeted.

Olszewski tested positive for COVID-19 in December 2021. The positive result came from a PCR test he took as part of his regular testing regimen.

Days later, he declared a local state of emergency to shore up the county's COVID-19 response.

His emergency declaration was aimed at giving Baltimore County more flexibility in the way it protects residents from COVID-19 while making it easier for the county to get whatever support it needs from the state and federal governments.

He also announced an indoor mask mandate for the county as COVID-19 cases began to rise.

Olszewski's mask mandate required everyone in the county ages 5 and older to wear masks in indoor public spaces. Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, along with Baltimore City, had similar mandates at the time.

In:
• COVID-19